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Chris Williams knife tried to rip me off for $5,150
- Thread starter Damage109
- Start date
I've made some very strong allegations here and I believe everyone has a right to tell their story and defend their actions. If Chris Williams wants to respond I welcome him too and I will NOT participate in any type of arguing or name calling.
At some point I would like to post some documentation here on the thread, I'm not sure if this is allowed or not but I would like for the documents to tell the story. I would make sure to remove any and all personal information with the exception of his email address. His email address is public and is posted in many places including his website so I wouldn't think this would be a problem. I will wait for a few days before I do this so the mods have time to see this. I don't want to break any rules or get anyone in trouble.
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2016
- Messages
- 152
Sorry to hear about this character. I've been bit in the past before, but never to the level you've been bitten. Mine wasn't with knives, but vaping/e-cig gear. Shill accounts and manufactured ratings/testimonials create a false sense of trust, and should be outlawed.
While I see no issue with acting as cutler for pre-made knives, claiming your knife is custom made is nothing but a bold faced lie. If I were doing it professionally, I'd let the customer know that the only work I did was finish the blade (knock off the sharp edges and polish) then made a custom handle for the blade. I wouldn't be able to claim the knife was custom made by me, but I could state that some of the work was custom hand made.
Find a local and well known knife maker near you and have them inspect the blades you have. If he concurs that it's not real damascus and has blade failures (looks like I saw a crack) see if he will make you a proper one, then see if he would be willing to stand up as a professional knife maker/knife expert and sue Williams for the cost of the junk you have in your hands now. In the least, you'll recover your initial cost while making friends with a true professional knife maker.
As for how to handle Williams...let the courts deal with him. Keep a detailed diary of everything said between the two of you, copies of emails, and even this post. Give the lawyer as much information as needed to put this guy back in his place, and out of business.
While I see no issue with acting as cutler for pre-made knives, claiming your knife is custom made is nothing but a bold faced lie. If I were doing it professionally, I'd let the customer know that the only work I did was finish the blade (knock off the sharp edges and polish) then made a custom handle for the blade. I wouldn't be able to claim the knife was custom made by me, but I could state that some of the work was custom hand made.
Find a local and well known knife maker near you and have them inspect the blades you have. If he concurs that it's not real damascus and has blade failures (looks like I saw a crack) see if he will make you a proper one, then see if he would be willing to stand up as a professional knife maker/knife expert and sue Williams for the cost of the junk you have in your hands now. In the least, you'll recover your initial cost while making friends with a true professional knife maker.
As for how to handle Williams...let the courts deal with him. Keep a detailed diary of everything said between the two of you, copies of emails, and even this post. Give the lawyer as much information as needed to put this guy back in his place, and out of business.
- Joined
- May 21, 2000
- Messages
- 6,238
Wow! This guy has zero shame or integrity!
This is a great example why many potential collectors are justifiably paranoid about investing in "custom" knives.
To the uninitiated, scammers like this can seem legitimate; particularly with the backing of paid advertising.
Consumers are rightly disappointed when they learn that their "custom" knife was made by a robot in China for $2, or forged from old manhole covers in Pakistan, and give up on custom knives forever.
Can't say I blame them to some extent. It's a shame though, as there are many legitimate makers turning out great stuff these days.
Getting a restraining order was a great idea, but I'm wiling to be this idiot is a lowly coward who is nothing but talk.
I hope you get your money back and explore every legal option available to you. Sounds like you have dealt with this better than most.
This guy might be headed for the GB&U hall of fame soon.
This is a great example why many potential collectors are justifiably paranoid about investing in "custom" knives.
To the uninitiated, scammers like this can seem legitimate; particularly with the backing of paid advertising.
Consumers are rightly disappointed when they learn that their "custom" knife was made by a robot in China for $2, or forged from old manhole covers in Pakistan, and give up on custom knives forever.
Can't say I blame them to some extent. It's a shame though, as there are many legitimate makers turning out great stuff these days.
Getting a restraining order was a great idea, but I'm wiling to be this idiot is a lowly coward who is nothing but talk.
I hope you get your money back and explore every legal option available to you. Sounds like you have dealt with this better than most.
This guy might be headed for the GB&U hall of fame soon.
You should follow through with your court case, or it looks like you are using us to manipulate your agenda. Shit or get off the pot, mister. If you want to keep using your personal schedule as an excuse, that won't support your case too well.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Messages
- 342
His sales pitch is slick. His website looks really good and touches the emotional heart strings of knives. High quality knife photos, black and white pictures of boats. He doesn't just sell the knife, he sells the experience. It's high level scamming. Reminds me of the thieves that move into a nice neighborhood and then spend all their time and energy acting the part. It would be easy for anyone to be ripped off from the image he presents. Going the extra step he does to post in maxim and other outlets adds legitimacy.
It's a sad state of affairs that you should have to look up a seller and their business practices just to make a purchase from them without getting scammed.
It's a sad state of affairs that you should have to look up a seller and their business practices just to make a purchase from them without getting scammed.
To me, it seems like that this kind of business model becomes more common these days. They start out as dishonest or counterfeit business with good marketing. As they grow on victims, they begin making original products/services. Few years pass, their dark past is oblivion, and people consider them somewhat legit. It is a sad state of affairs for sure.
In my field of work, there are many fake Chinese conference services, which advertise to have world renowned speakers invited. In fact, these listed speakers are not invited and just used as baits. Unfortunately, there are enough preys, who are desperate to go to international conferences for their resume, for these services. Funny thing is that after several years, they now have a “long history” of service and can really have good people to their conferences. Knife manufacturers, which are currently considered predatory or counterfeit, may also eventually become “good” businesses without making up for their initial wrongdoings.
I do not know for sure if CWK is one of these kinds. But I am glad that we have BladeForums in the knife community to keep the record of business practices of these services for future evaluation.
Sorry to derail from the topic a bit.
Miso
In my field of work, there are many fake Chinese conference services, which advertise to have world renowned speakers invited. In fact, these listed speakers are not invited and just used as baits. Unfortunately, there are enough preys, who are desperate to go to international conferences for their resume, for these services. Funny thing is that after several years, they now have a “long history” of service and can really have good people to their conferences. Knife manufacturers, which are currently considered predatory or counterfeit, may also eventually become “good” businesses without making up for their initial wrongdoings.
I do not know for sure if CWK is one of these kinds. But I am glad that we have BladeForums in the knife community to keep the record of business practices of these services for future evaluation.
Sorry to derail from the topic a bit.
Miso
CWK is a scoundrel and charlatan of the highest order. Not only is he selling blanks which he slaps a handle on and claiming them to be his own custom designs built from the ground up. Not only is he claiming that he spent ages brainstorming the lines and shapes of these knives to come up with the perfect customs for which he now has to charge a premium. He is also selling 20$ Ganzo knives, which are knockoffs of a Benchmade HK model, re-branded as his own custom designed knife for a rediculous price.
Whatever this guy gets coming to him he brought it on himself. It makes me sad that people like this operate. What is even sadder is that people are being suckered in by the paid for advertisements. I would have thought that if someone was going to spend that amount on the knife they would at least look up some unbiased assessments of the product.
Whatever this guy gets coming to him he brought it on himself. It makes me sad that people like this operate. What is even sadder is that people are being suckered in by the paid for advertisements. I would have thought that if someone was going to spend that amount on the knife they would at least look up some unbiased assessments of the product.